Apr

17

Vis a vis the impossibility of threading the needle. There is a great short story by Sholem Alechem called "The Competitors". The gist is that two fruit sellers enter the bus always at the same time. She in the front, he in the back. They fight like cats and dogs. They curse at each other. "He has the rotten fruit. All the highest prices, the unhealthy ones" "She is a crook and beats her children. She takes all the money and runs around with it. Her stuff has molds and she doesn't keep it refrigerated. She was ordered to stop by the commisar and that's why she's here". Eventually he trips her and kicks her down the stairs and all her fruit goes tumbling. A good Russian helps her pick it up. "Why do you always do it on the same bus. Why do you have to fight with him?" "Who, my husband?".